Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Monday April 13 2020, @04:04PM   Printer-friendly
from the cheaper-by-the-dozen dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

The head of Russia's space agency on Saturday accused Elon Musk's SpaceX of predatory pricing for space launches, which is pushing Russia to cut its own prices. "Instead of honest competition on the market for space launches, they are lobbying for sanctions against us and use price dumping with impunity," Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin wrote on Twitter.

Rogozin, who is often outspoken on Twitter and previously engaged in online banter with Elon Musk, on Friday raised the issue during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

He said the Roscosmos space agency "is working to lower prices by more than 30 percent on launch services to increase our share on the international markets." "This is our answer to dumping by American companies financed by the US budget," he said. The market price of a SpaceX launch is $60 million, but NASA pays up to four times that amount, he said.

Musk responded to the criticism Saturday by saying on Twitter: "SpaceX rockets are 80% reusable, theirs are 0%. This is the actual problem."


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 1, Troll) by legont on Monday April 13 2020, @05:22PM (9 children)

    by legont (4179) on Monday April 13 2020, @05:22PM (#982088)

    Yeah, even though one foreign seat would finance the whole launch, it is still cheaper then SpaceX's. Perhaps, Rogozin should offer free tickets to the station as soviets have done.

    --
    "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   -1  
       Troll=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Troll' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   1  
  • (Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Monday April 13 2020, @05:32PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday April 13 2020, @05:32PM (#982092) Journal

    WRONG. Crew Dragon will cost $55 million per astronaut. Boeing's Starliner will cost a little more than Soyuz, at $90 million per astronaut.

    http://web.archive.org/web/20200308145723/https://www.space.com/spacex-boeing-commercial-crew-seat-prices.html [archive.org]

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday April 13 2020, @05:39PM (6 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 13 2020, @05:39PM (#982098) Journal

    Yeah, even though one foreign seat would finance the whole launch, it is still cheaper then SpaceX's.

    One "foreign seat" would pay for two Falcon 9 launches.

    Perhaps, Rogozin should offer free tickets to the station as soviets have done.

    Soviet Russia was dead and gone before ISS was started.

    • (Score: 1) by Sulla on Monday April 13 2020, @06:48PM (3 children)

      by Sulla (5173) on Monday April 13 2020, @06:48PM (#982140) Journal

      Soviet Russia was dead and gone before ISS was started.

      Your point? Just because it would have been impossible for them to follow through doesn't mean they didn't do it.

      If Mickey Mouse can vote, the Soviets can continue to offer free flights to the ISS

      --
      Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday April 13 2020, @07:32PM

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 13 2020, @07:32PM (#982171) Journal

        If Mickey Mouse can vote, the Soviets can continue to offer free flights to the ISS

        I think I'd like to have a little of what Mickey Mouse is smoking.

      • (Score: 2) by takyon on Monday April 13 2020, @07:37PM

        by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday April 13 2020, @07:37PM (#982177) Journal

        Roscosmos can't afford Make-A-Wish charity launches. They will launch capitalist pigs, until SpaceX takes that business away from them. ☹

        --
        [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Wednesday April 15 2020, @12:20PM

        by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday April 15 2020, @12:20PM (#983014) Journal

        The point he is making is that there are no 'soviets'. There are Russians, but the Soviet Union ceased to exist decades ago. You are using an outdated term in a - presumably - derogatory way for some reason or other.

        The current ruling party in Russia is the United Russia party led, of course, by Putin.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by legont on Monday April 13 2020, @10:36PM (1 child)

      by legont (4179) on Monday April 13 2020, @10:36PM (#982269)

      I do not follow the pricing thing, but according to this https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/11/nasa-report-finds-boeing-seat-prices-are-60-higher-than-spacex/ [arstechnica.com]
      NASA will pay SpaceX $55 per seat assuming all four seats are taken all the time.

      From the same source

      Overall, NASA paid Russia an average cost per seat of $55.4 million for the 70 completed and planned missions from 2006 through 2020. Since 2017, NASA has paid an average of $79.7 million.

      So, yeah, Russians got greedy later but just changed their mind. Regardless, Soyuz is still cheaper, it seems.

      --
      "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
      • (Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday April 14 2020, @12:12AM

        by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Tuesday April 14 2020, @12:12AM (#982309) Journal

        NASA will pay SpaceX $55 per seat assuming all four seats are taken all the time.

        And that is the plan, except for the Demo-2 flight.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_2#List_of_flights [wikipedia.org]

        Keep in mind that the craft can actually seat up to 7. Soyuz-MS can do up to 3. NASA will carry cargo along with up to 4 astronauts:

        NASA flights to the ISS will only have four astronauts, with the added payload mass and volume used to carry pressurized cargo.

        Possibly tons of cargo. Payload capacity is listed as 6,000 kg to orbit.

        --
        [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 14 2020, @12:45AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 14 2020, @12:45AM (#982319)

    There is no free launch.